Stoopid Stuff

Private Holocaust Post-Embrace Denial?

Imprisoned in the Hague for war crimes, Charles Taylor has converted to Judaism. He was a Christian, but apparently had trouble believing the whole Christ Son of God thing, so in his metaphysical and theological explorations he has decided to become a Jew.

Now, there's about six layers of irony in all this, but mainly I'm struck by the common embrace of religion by those who have inflicted death and suffering on an industrial scale, people who's very life stories embody the hellish dishonesty of scriptural gospel.

Of course, there's also that whole "genocidal maniac identifies as Jewish" thing that's frankly a little hard to wrap my mind around.

There's that whole "finding religion once you're pretty certain never to have your freedom again" deal that somehow always seems a little tawdry to me.

For years I have grappled with and railed against the fundamental hypocrisy of the worlds motley collection of organized religions, but this is something beyond their baseline mendacity. If some very powerful Rabbi somewhere doesn't stand up and say, "hey Charles, know what? I checked with god and he says fuck you - find some other path to spiritual realization", it will reinforce everything I've ever thought about religious institutions...

posted by mikey @ 9:20 AM